My Zero-Waste Adventure: The Plot
Hi! My name is Kareena Desai. I am the founder and CEO of Perform For Change, a non-profit organization that raises money for important environmental causes through projects and performances.
Recently my family and I visited The Plot in Oceanside, California. The Plot is a plant-based restaurant founded by Chef Davin and Jessica Waite in January of 2020.
At the restaurant our waitress Cat, explained how their whole restaurant was zero-waste. Here are some of the amazing things The Plot does to be waste free:
Aside from their utensils and crockery being completely reusable, their menus are made out of compostable materials.
To conserve all parts of the food, they gave us squash and kale stem relish as an Amuse Bouche. An Amuse Bouche is, as explained by The Plot, “A gift from the kitchen that we share with each guest at the beginning of their meal.”
After the meal, we were lucky enough to meet Chef Travis who gave us an amazing tour around their own organic, raised bed garden next to the restaurant. In that garden, they grow all different types of vegetables, fruits and herbs to use in their kitchen. Almost 30% of the produce on their menu is made with ingredients from their garden!
Chef Travis also told us how they compost all of their food scraps. The scraps from the kitchen get composted in their garden, and the ones from the tables get composted industrially. They also send items that need specialized recycling to Terracycle.
For takeout, The Plot makes sure that their takeout utensils and boxes are completely biodegradable. They have also partnered with a company called ReVessel to create a reusable takeout container swap program.
They also work with trusted vendors to make sure the produce that can’t be grown in their own garden doesn’t come in plastic packaging, and they have threatened to send back any produce wrapped in plastic.
At The Plot we had an amazing Caesar salad, “cheesy” french fries, tomato bisque, and delicious chronic sushi! For dessert we had a delicious olive oil and vanilla cake and chocolate mousse with walnut crumble.
The Plot continues to serve delicious and waste free food to their customers every day and are planning to open up a new location in Costa Mesa. If you want to learn more about their amazing work, please visit their website at theplotrestaurant.com.
